Cavani: I don’t need to be friends with Neymar

Paris Saint-Germain forward Edison Cavani has denied a rift with Neymar has affected the squad and claims their public spat is ‘part of football’.

Cavani and Neymar were seen arguing over free-kick and penalty taking duties in a Ligue 1 fixture last month before veteran defender Dani Alves intervened to solve the issue.

That wasn’t the first time there was some on-field conflict between the two. They also got into a bit of a scuffle several years ago during the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final match between Brazil and Uruguay.

While there was visible tension between the prolific Uruguayan striker and the €222million club record signing from Barcelona, Cavani says it’s been long forgotten.

“That’s in the past,” he told SFR Sport when asked about the penalty incident. “These are things that happen in football.

“We must find the solution together and function as a team, we need to be a competitive team, but we do not need to be friends.

“You have to be professional, and afterwards everyone has their own life.”